Australia Is Well Equipped To Meet The Security Challenges Of Isil

Justice Minister Michael Keenan has said Australia is well equipped to meet national security challenges and that the government is doing everything it can to keep Australians safe.

He also said that closing our borders to refugees would be "entirely the wrong response".

In an interview on ABC news, Mr Keenan said that Australians were protected by the best security and intelligence services in the world.

"Since September last year the terror alert in Australia has been high -- that means that a terrorist attack is likely -- and since that time we have had three terrorist attacks on Australian soil and very importantly our agencies have foiled, through their good work, a further six," he said.

"So we've also had a very good understanding about the nature of the very significant national security challenges we have in Australia, nothing has particularly changed around that based on the Paris attacks apart from the fact that we're monitoring and talking to our international partners and doing everything we can to keep the Australian people safe from this terrible menace," he said.

Mr Keenan said that security services were not just planning for lone wolf style attacks, but "looking at every possible scenario to make sure we're doing all we can to stay ahead of this problem and protecting people from the constant threat of ISIL. Sadly we know it's been lone wolf attacks that we've been subjected to in Australia but that doesn't mean that we're not vigilant about other threats as well," he said.

As to whether Australia should open a discussion about more hardline refugee policies and a call by NSW Government MP Andrew Fraser calling for borders to be closed to refugees, Mr Keenan said: "It's not a matter of closing our borders to refugees -- that would be entirely the wrong response.

"Clearly we need to make sure that we continue to do what we do, and that is that we vet people who come to Australia.

"We are going to have an orderly process, I think rightly assisting people who have been affected by the humanitarian disaster that is Syria and the people who do come to Australia will be thoroughly vetted and scrutinised by our agencies to ensure we wouldn't let anyone into Australia who would pose a threat," he said.